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Zunyite
Current inventory:  0 gems
 

  
Zunyite is named after its discovery locality at the Zuni mine near Silverton, San Juan County, Colorado, USA.

Discovered in 1884;   IMA status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered).

Chemistry

Chemical Formula:

Al₁₃Si₅O₂₀(OH)₁₆F₂Cl

Aluminum Silicate Hydroxide Fluoride Chloride

Molecular Weight:

1156.74 gm

Composition: 

Classification

Mineral Classification:

Silicates

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

8/C.36-10

Nickel-Strunz 10th Ed. ID:

9.BJ.55

9 : SILICATES (Germanates)
B : Sorosilicates
J : Sorosilicates with Si₃O₁₀, Si₄O₁₁, etc. anions; cations in octahedral [6] and greater coordination

Related to:

Zuyite Series

Varieties:

Dillnite

Crystal Data

Crystallography:

Isometric - Hextetrahedral

Crystal Habit:

As excellent tetrahedral or pseudo-octahedral crystals, may be modified by the cube, up to 2 cm.

Twinning:

On [111], contact and penetration.

Physical Properties

Cleavage:

[111] Good

Fracture:

Irregular/Uneven, Conchoidal

Tenacity:

Brittle

Moh's Hardness:

7.0

Density:

2.874 (g/cm³)

Luminescence:

May fluoresce faint to bright red under SW UV

Radioactivity:

Not Radioactive

Optical Properties

Color:

Grayish White, pale Beige-Brown, Flesh-Red; Colorless in thin section

Transparency:

Transparent to Translucent; may be opaque due to inclusions

Luster:

Vitreous

Refractive Index:

1.592 - 1.600  Isotropic

Birefringence:

0.00 (Isotropic)

Dispersion:

n/a

Pleochroism:

None

Occurances

Geological Setting:

In highly aluminous shales and hydrothermally altered volcanic rocks.

Common Associations:

Alunite, Diaspore, Hematite, Kaolinite, Pyrite, Pyrophyllite, Quartz, Rutile

Type Locality:

Zuni Mine (Zuñi Mine), Anvil Mountain, Silverton, Silverton District, San Juan Co., Colorado, USA

Year Discovered:

1884

View mineral photos:

Zunyite Mineral Photos and Locations

More Information

Mindat.org
Webmineral.com

Zunyite is not a rare mineral but is rarely faceted. Crystals are very small and rarely transparent enough for faceting. However, in 1986 relatively large Zunyite crystals (up to 2cm) were found in a prospect pit near Quartzite, Arizona, USA. They were perfect tetrahedra and pale beige-brown in color. Minute areas of some of these crystals were perfectly transparent, colorless and suitable for faceting gems up to 1/2 carat in size.

Zunyite is found in several localities worldwide but very few produce facet grade crystals. The only location reported to produce such crystals is in the Dome Rock Mountains, near Quartzsite, La Paz County, Arizona, USA.
 

  
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